When she is
by wonderwoman78
Summary: Jane is being a difficult patient
1. Chapter 1

Top of Form

When she wants something, she struts... A confidence like no other. Her shoulders square, her back straight, her legs seem to elongate with each step. Her hips give a gentle sway and control her walk. I've seen it so many times that it surprises me how much I lust for it. Her strut does something to me that not even her voice can do; it makes me smile. I hear it long before I see her and the anticipation of her wild hair bouncing around her shoulders, her finely arched eyebrows queued up and mouth ready with a silly statement to make me smile.

But today something is wrong.

I sit at my desk browsing the pages of my favorite shoe shopping site. I'm clicking between the red sling backs and the matte black open toe stilettos. Chewing on my lip, distracted by my choices, I didn't hear her approach until my eye catches the color of her t-shirt. Pale yellow. Her Thursday shirt.

Problem 1, its Tuesday.

Her gait is short and not as strong as it usually is. She slides through the door without much greetings like she normally does. Her shoulders are drawn up to her ears, hands in her pockets, sneaking out occasionally to rub her arms.

"Are you cold, Jane?" I ask as soon as she settles herself against the desk.  
>"I think I caught a chill as soon as I stepped off the elevator. What is the temp down here anyway?"<br>"A comfortable 68 degrees," I answer.  
>"Comfortable to you maybe," she snapped.<p>

Problem 2. She's irritable.

I checked the time. It's well after eleven. She's had her two cups of coffee by now. Maybe she's hungry.

"Ready for lunch?" I asked.  
>"No, not really hungry," she bemoaned wrapping her arm around her stomach.<p>

She's shielding it; protecting it. I watch her more closely as she looks over the papers on my desk.  
>Her face grimaces and then relaxes.<p>

"Are you in pain?"  
>"A little. Cramps. But it's not my period."<br>"You had it two weeks ago."  
>"Yea, I don't know what it is."<br>"Something you ate maybe."

We're well into our conversation when Jane realizes that I have her talking.

"What the hell, Maura!" She yelled standing. "How do you do that?"

I shrugged my shoulders. My Jane doesn't like to talk about personal problems if at all and certainly not at work. After her outburst, she sat back down, wrapping both arms around her midsection.

"You're really not feeling well, are you?" I asked rolling my chair closer to her.  
>"No."<p>

I put my hand on her knee and she leans forward, resting her head on my shoulder.

Problem 3. She never displays an open need for me.

My other hand goes to her neck.

"Want to get out of here?" I asked.  
>"I can't. We're working a case."<br>"You are allowed sick time, Jane."

I pet her hair.

"But..."  
>"I'll take you home."<br>"You'll stay with me?"  
>"Yes, I'll stay with you.<br>After a beat, "Ok."

I pat her knee signaling that she should get up. My once slow Jane has now turned sluggish.

"I'll meet you by my car."  
>"Ok."<p>

I watched her walk out my morgue to the elevator banks. I stand guard until an car arrives and she disappears inside. I ran back to my desk, shutting off my laptop, sliding it inside my briefcase. I turn off the desk top and leave a note for my assistant detailing what is left to do on the Ramirez body and that I'm leaving early. I also instructed to not to call me unless it is utterly important. I glanced around the open space again slowly making sure nothing is left out. I slide into my lightweight spring trench coat and make my way to the parking lot. 

She stands next to my car, leaning on it actually, with her head down. I can see a small grimace on her face. She is unaware when a few patrolmen pass by looking at her. And then Crowe.

"You okay there, Rizzoli?"

"Huh?" she looks up.

"You okay?" he repeats.

"Uh, yeah, yeah. I'm fine."

She stands straighter not wanting Crowe to see her in a weak state.

"I'm good," she expresses again.

"Oh, I thought I caught you sleeping on the job… again," Crowe laughs.

"Bite me, Crowe."

"Good Afternoon, Detective Crowe," I say coming up behind him.

"Hel…hello, Dr. Isles."

I smile at him, laughing inwardly at him stuttering. I make my way over to Jane.

"It seems our resident asshole has a crush on you, Maura," Jane whispers in my ear as I lean over to open the door.

"To bad he isn't my type," I reply taking Jane's hand and helping her into the passenger's seat.


	2. Chapter 2

I look across the car at Jane Rizzoli sound asleep in my passenger seat. Another observation. Jane never sleeps in the middle of the day. Not being up 27 hours straight working on a case nor an injury would knock this detective on her feet. But being under the weather will surely take away my detective's bite. I sit quietly and watch her chest rise and fall. A soft murmur of sounds comes from her throat. She isn't exactly talking in her sleep but making sounds. I can sense her discomfort sitting up but I really don't want to wake her up; not yet. For my own selfish reasons I like being able to watch her eyes move swiftly back and forth behind closed lids, hoping that she is dreaming about me. About us. A whimper fills my ears. I instantly reach over and gently touch her cheek.

"Jane, we're home," I say softly caressing her skin.

Her eyes flutter open and she stretches slightly before recoiling to her previous position.

"Ughh."

"Sweetie?"

"Maura? Where?" she wraps arms around her midsection.

"In my car. We're outside your apartment building. Let's get you inside."

I'm on her side faster than thought possible. I extended my hand and help her out my low riding car. She winces slightly but still tries to put up a brave front.

"I just have a little stomachache, Maura. I'm not an invalid," she gripes as I wrap my arm around her waist for support.

I don't respond with words but hold her tighter. I feel her heat radiating from her body. It's surprisingly easy getting her up the stairs. No complaints just compliancy. I open the door and instantly realize that we are not greeted by Joe Friday.

"Jane, where's Joe?"

"Frankie has her. He's had her for the past two days."

"Why?"

"Something about her being a chick magnet," she sighs as she shrugs off her jacket.

I watch it fall to the floor as she sits on the couch.

"Jane," I chastise.

"What?" she asks looking up at me from her slumped position.

"Nothing," I sigh, bending to retrieve her jacket from the floor and draping it across the lone chair in the room.

I watch as she closes her eyes once again and slips into a light sleep. I take this opportunity to clean her apartment. I didn't want to comment on the untidiness of her home when we came thru the door and decided that as soon as she was down, I would do a quick but sufficient cleaning. I carefully lock the door and begin my task of picking up Joe Friday's toys that lay scattered around the apartment. I place all of them in Joe's toy box and then go about stacking unread mail neatly on the hall table. I work my way around the room and check on Jane before venturing into the bedroom. She has slid further down on the couch, leaning over to the side of the arm. Her left arm is folded under her head for more support as she sleeps. I reach forward and smooth her hair off her forehead.

Her bedroom, as I had predicted was a mess. Socks litter the floor, to which I pick up and place in the hamper in the corner. A few pairs of pants are thrown over the back of the open closet door. I pair them up with their matching jackets and fold them to put in a garment bag to be taken to the dry cleaners another day. Hopefully tomorrow. I change her bed sheets and toss her Nonna's hand knitted blanket across the bottom. I crack the window slightly to let in some fresh air. I stand back and smile at my accomplishment. Time to wake the princess.

"Come on, Jane. I don't see what the big deal is. I've seen you in your underwear. And I'm a doctor." I say with my hands on my hips, rapidly losing my patience.

"You're a doctor for the dead. And I'm not dead!" She squawks at me.

If she wasn't being difficult, I would find her pitch change cute.

"And you will be dead, if you don't let me examine you," I say calmly. "It's my way or we go to the emergency room and let a big ugly man nurse examine you," I point out.

I watch as she honest to God thinks about her choices!

"Fine. Fine. Fine!," she relents and rips her t-shirt over her head faster than she intended. "Oh god, that's hurts," she whispers.

Her face goes pale and I can see that she has stopped breathing.

"Jane!," I scramble to her side and encourage her to breathe. "Breathe, Jane. You have to breathe."

I walk her over to the bed and we slowly sit down. I somehow get her calm enough to resume the regular in and out technique of breathing.

"Better?" I ask.

"Yea."

"Ready to do this my way?"

"Yea."

"Good," I say. "Let me help you get the rest of these clothes off."


	3. Chapter 3

I knew that she was a terrible patient, from past experiences, but with this type of behavior, Jane is in rare form. She whines. She cries. She whines some more. She won't let me touch her.

"I can't help you, Jane, if you don't let me," I try to explain.

She looks at me with beagle sad eyes and a twitching lower lip.

"Baby, please."

I've been trying to examine her abdomen for about twenty minutes, right after I helped settle her into bed.

"I promise to be gentle."

"Will you call me baby, again?" she asks looking up over the sheet she had pulled up to her nose.

I smile at this request.

"Of course, baby. I will do it for as many times you would like me to."

"Every time I feel sick?"

"Yes."

"Every time you get mad at me?"

"Maybe."

"C'mon, Maura."

"What baby?" I tease playing with her fingertips gripping the sheet.

Her eyes smile at me and I know that I'm winning this war.

"Promise not to diagnose me with some weird disease?"

I hold up my hand with my thumb pressing my pinky to the center of my palm.

"Girl Scout's honor," I say proudly.

Revealing her face from behind the bed sheet, she asks, "You were a girl scout?"

"Yes. I was a brownie."

"A brownie. Wow, Maura, I didn't peg you as an underachiever."

I lower my head.

"I… I was asked to leave the organization when I was eight."

"They kicked you out? For what?"

"It seems I made the other girls uncomfortable with my vast knowledge on the history and all the activities we were schedule to perform in order to earn our badges."

"What?" Jane sat up in bed.

"You know how I like to be prepared for test and things. I… I had practice ahead of the troop's schedule for earning badges. Technically I knew more information on the organization that the troop leader and she didn't take kindly to me being a know-it-all, as she put it. I was asked to leave. I didn't really belong to that troop anyway. No one ever wanted to partner up with me anyway."

"Hey, hey, hey. Forget about them. You got the best partner anyway, me. And I got you," she said pulling me into a hug.

We hung onto each other for a long time in silence feeling each other's warmth.

"Baby?" I ask feeling her resolve fade away.

"Hmm," she answers. I can tell that she's asleep.

"Will you let me look at you now?"

"Mmkay."

"Lay back for me."

She flops back onto the bed. I smile at her antics. A sleepy Jane is a child Jane. I lift up her tank top. I rub my hand together trying to warm them up before touching her. I place my hands on her stomach and find that my fingers are tracing the pattern of her six pack. I shake my head to clear my brain of the naughty thoughts and barely succeed. I remember doing this last week. And I remember her laugh caught in her throat as my fingers touch her, her lazy smile as I look up from hooded eyes at her. I licked my lips in anticipation on tasting her and she groaned with impatience.

"Maura," she hisses my name.

I snap back to reality.

"I'm sorry, Jane, I'm sorry."

It was then that I registered the extreme tenderness to her abdomen. I look up at Jane as I continue to press firmly on her stomach, specifically the lower right side. She tries to stifle her cries with biting on her tongue. Her eyes are watering as she grabs for at the sheets. When I stop, she blows out a huge breathe. I can see the tears trailing down her cheeks. She takes a stuttered breath. She's in pain but I have to detach my feelings and become the medical examiner.

"Describe the pain. On a scale of one to ten, one is being no pain, ten being unbearable."

"12."

I stand and walk into the bathroom looking for the thermometer. I find it hidden in the medicine cabinet and quickly begin shaking it down to a reasonable temperature.

"Open," I say walking back into the room.

I sit by her hip and insert the thermometer. It is then that I notice the light sheen of sweat on her forehead. I take her hand and turn it over placing my fingers on her wrist checking her pulse.

"Maur."

"Shh. Your pulse is slightly elevated."

I gently wipe her forehead with a napkin I find on her nightstand. I check my watch and I pull out the thermometer to read it.

103.

"We have to go to the hospital, Jane."

"Can't we just stay here? You can take care of me," she pleads.

"No, Jane. We have to go to the emergency room. You may be suffering from appendicitis. And that, baby, I can't cure."


	4. Chapter 4

When she said that she wanted me to drive to the hospital, I said okay. Anything for Jane.

I thought getting her vertical would be more challenging with the amount of pain she was in, but I was wrong. Moving is her enemy.

"I can't, Maura. I can't," she cries.

I stop walking and rest her against the wall next to the door. She is in so much pain and I'm not handling it very well. On the outside, I'm stone face. Reassuring Jane that I'm in control but on the inside, I'm falling apart. I'm not used to seeing Jane Rizzoli in physical pain. She's my strong commanding friend. I don't know if I can do this.

"I just want to lay down," she whispers, "I just want to lay down."

She starts to descend slowly to the floor. Inch by agonizing slow inch.

"No. No. No. You have to remain standing," I say holding her up around the waist.  
>"I just want to lay down."<p>

There's a change in her voice. I didn't notice it before, but I notice it now. She sounds drowsy. But I haven't given her any medicine.

"Jane, baby?" I look at her face.

Her eyes are half closed.

"Baby? Baby?"  
>"Huh?"<br>"Stay with me, baby. You cannot go to sleep," I stress.

I feel her body get heavier.

"Jane!"  
>"Maura, why are you screaming?"<br>"I want you to stay awake."

I half carry half walk her over to the couch.

"How much pain are you in now, baby?"  
>"I don't feel a thing," she mumbled.<br>"Shit."  
>"Language, Maura," she smiles up at me after sitting her down.<p>

Her head rolls to the back of the couch.

"No, no, no, no."

She's lost consciousness. I grab the phone and call 911.

"911, how may I direct your call?"  
>"Hello, my name is Dr. Maura Isles. I have an officer down. Det. Jane Rizzoli is suffering from a burst appendix. She has lost consciousness and has gone into shock. I need an ambulance here five minutes ago." <p>


End file.
